New vehicles became more developed in many aspects: paints, accessories, electronics, luxury upholstery (leathers linings), flexible plastic seals, and coated inner devices... since these expensive things are exposed to direct heat and sunlight for hours in a day, if accumulated through the year or years it will be hazardous to the whole vehicle, the needs for a practical vehicle cover became a must.

Background Art

Normal vehicle cover is used since decades for the purpose of covering vehicles while parked for long periods, to achieve the protection of the vehicle from paint degradation, exterior body metal from corrosion, interior materials aging, all that can be achieved by using a cover to protect from sunlight, rays, dew, rain, snow, hot and sunny climates, dusts, abrasive windblown, sand airborne contaminates, pebbles, chemicals, acid rains, birds droppings, cement, sleet, hail, smog, tree sap, pollens, snow, ice, frost, frozen precipitation and slight frictions with solid bodies causing slight scratches.

The importance of vehicle cover starts from the moment the vehicle gets out the gates of factory. Where the vehicle will be parked tell shipping, then it will be parked again in ports and later in distributor parking, through all these times which are ranging from days to months, the vehicle will be exposed to all different weather conditions, which will cause partial or whole damages in some parts of the vehicle, that will appear with time. Through experience with 6 dealers of vehicles in the gulf and middle east, it is found that the vehicles which were parked for long periods, either before delivery, or after, have more problems in their rubbers, paints, upholstery, electronics, these parts of vehicle are seriously affected by heat and sunrays.

The maintenance of these items causes many negative results, such as: money loss, customer low satisfaction in the product, more scrapped materials, more consumption of chemicals and power. To avoid part of that, manufacturers are fixing plastic sticky covers on the engine hood, roof and trunk lid in addition to installing cloth covers on the front seats, these materials parts price and labor of installing and removing reaches around 40 $, it will be removed later as a waste and thrown into trash, but before vehicle delivery, still the vehicle need full body polish, because not all the body was covered, the body polish normally cost around 100 $, this means that around 140 $ is spent for each vehicle of the 40 million vehicles manufactured yearly, the total cost for all will equal 5.6 billion dollars yearly.

Further more, the vehicles even after sold need to stop for different periods of times, daily for employees, weakly for vehicles waiting repairs, monthly for vehicles on open shows or parked because their drivers are away.

This means that rough calculations for all of what results from the absence of permanent vehicle cover, means that the losses are great and variable, ranging from 10ths of billions of dollars, to billions of meters cubic of water, to environment hazards, to losses in energy, time and manpower.

Recently some new vehicle covers designs are developed, mostly depending on unrolling or unfolding automatically or semi automatically the fabric cover for use from a roller assembly manually or using a motor-driven means that is installed in a housing, container, bag secured over front, middle or rear of vehicle exterior body, inside the luggage compartment, or under the front or rear bumper. Examples of 'roil-up ¹ car cover can be found in U.S Pat. Nos. 1,918,423; 3,222,102; 3,992,053; 4,432,581; 4,519,644; 4,657,298; 4,720,135; 4,727,898; 4,732,421; 4,856,824; 5,056,839; 5,078,330; 5,086,988; 5,176, 421 and 5,597,196. Both complicated and non-complicated means aimed to solve the problems in the old design that mainly concentrated on five problems:

a- The long time required for installing and removing the fabric cover, which is typically taking around 10 minutes to deploy or remove it. b- The time it takes to restore it in its original bag. c- The shape and place of tools used to store the cover. d- Security and safety of the cover against being damaged by outside accidents, weather conditions, or being stolen by somebody. e- Ventilation.

Accordion pleated cover for only covering vehicle top without using bag or spring retarder roller is found in US. Pat. No. 4,951,993 issued to Vincent C. Taboada on Aug. 28, 1990, entitled Accordion Pleated vehicle cover described a reversibly expandable vehicle cover that is generally rectangular cover body which is folded along transverse folding scores into an accordion pleated series of panels terminating in front and end panels. Extending slidably through receiving openings in the panels and extending beyond the front and rear end panels are adjustable length elastomeric guide cords that fasten at the front and rear ends of the cover body with end panel cords that are themselves fastened by one end to the front and rear end panels of the cover body. Upon extending the cover over the vehicle, the cover is secured to the front and rear ends of the vehicle by couplers associated with the termini of the vehicles.

This invention lack many elements: 1- it did not cover the vehicle sides. 2- It did not have an automatic spring retarder roller that makes retarding the cover fabric more easy. 3- It did not take the shape of the vehicle. 4- It did not have a storage bag ...

Further as this invention and other new designs tried to solve one or more of the normal covers problems, it created new problems that need to be solved, and these include the followings:

1- Non-convenient: some of it did not cover the vehicle whole body from A to Z. sometimes it cannot cover more than the vehicle top side.

2- Side covers: Those covers designed to cover also the sides of the vehicle, all of them did not show how to cover and uncover the sides of the vehicle in a practical, convenient, creative and fast way.

3- Costly devices: some covers use costly devices such as: Remote motor control, compressors, control modules, electrical motors, batteries... these will create higher costs of the cover, failures, then more costs of maintenance and repair. 4- Laborious: some of it need more than one person to handle it, or need the person to round around the vehicle more than one time when covering the vehicle or removing the fabric cover for storing.

5- Time-consuming: due to many steps and extra stages required for using the cover, removing and installing it, securing its tools, housings, and containers that supports its use.

6- Troublesome: since it was looking to solve the main problems, but it was not going in detail to solve every minor problem in every corner, which may make its handling unpractical partially or totally.

7- Breaking the aerodynamics requirement of vehicle, some of it is permanently installed in a housing that is installed on the vehicle body.

Such problems cause a lack in the widespread use of such coverings, because it created an inadequate balance of affordability, convenience, and performance to make them practical for daily use.

What is required from a new design?

An improved, easier to construct and use and subsequently inexpensive vehicle cover, needs also to achieve the followings:

1- Easy to handle.

2- Reduction in time consumed for installing, removing and storing it. (The old manual types require a time of around 20 min; the new must require around 1 min).

3- Compact, reachable, can be stored in luggage compartment when not in use, protected from accidents (damages), dirt and scratches ...

4- Using simple tools and mechanisms in order to achieve less cost price, costs of maintenance and time of repair.

5- Special type of materials that can protect the vehicle in and out.

6- Multipurpose use: a- It can be used as tent in house garden, shores and deserts... b- Advertisements use. 7- Self-storing, retractable, with foldable pleats that can be arranged over each other in a proper orientation. So that unwanted bunching of the fabric cover is prevented.

8- Washable, waterproof, made from rigid or semi-rigid material that resist deformation, can achieve absorption or release of heat and solar radiation depending on its color, withstands moderate amounts of wind without being blown off the vehicle, attractive, ventilated, has transparent areas showing the plate numbers, windows, windscreens.

The subject invention have overcome these and other similar problems of the prior art.

Disclosure of Invention Brief Description

As the process of covering vehicle body requires covering three extended parts of its body (up, right and left) we designed the new cover basically by dividing the fabric cover into pleats, arranged over each other in continuous pairs taking the shape of accordion and hinged together using a net of cords attached to a spring retarded roller, the fabric take a U-shape which is also the shape of its bag, that is taking the shape of the rear bumper, or the shape of the luggage compartment inner rear and both right and left sides.

When pulling the fabric forward using the pulling stick, it covers whole vehicle top, in addition to right and left sides at the same time. Then all fabric bottom sides are pulled little more down and hooked in the single (side) hanger and front lower corners double hangers.

Unfolding the fabric starts by releasing the right and left sides from their hangers, then the front side is released from the double hangers and pulled forward to actuate the spring retarder (unlock it), then automatically the cords through the pleats will be pulled back by the spring retarder roller, which result in pulling the whole fabric's pleats backwards, to be arranged inside the U- shaped bag, which will be returned to the luggage compartment Brief Description of the Drawings:

• FIG. 1-A: Illustrates U-shaped bag located inside luggage compartment.

• FIG. 1-B: Illustrates U-shaped bag with the outer tools attached to it.

• FIG. 1-C: Illustrates a cross sectional view of the U-shaped bag.

• FIG. 2: Illustrate a view of the telescopic pulling stick.

• FIG. 3: Illustrates a two dimensional view of the fabric actual extended flat shape

• FIG. 4: Illustrates the pleats shape and design separate and when on vehicle.

• FIG. S: Illustrates double hanger with a cross sectional view of hanger hollow clamp,

• FIG. 6: Illustrates single hanger with a cross sectional view of hanger hollow clamp.

• FIG. 7: Illustrates a view of the U-shaped bag installed on the rear bumper.

• FIG. 8: Illustrates a view of the fabric cover pulled out from the U-shaped bag and reaching over the trunk lid.

• FIG. 9: Illustrates rear left side view of the vehicle while covered, with the fabric cover lower edges hooked under vehicle bottom side..

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention:

In order to make it easy to carry out the invention, a detailed description of the parts of the invention supported with figures is provided here, where the figures of the main parts are arranged sequentially according to the importance of the part, each part has many features, since in the case here there are many pages of interfering parts drawings, we made it easy to read, by referring to each feature with a number included in the parts description text and in the parts numbering list, the numbering of parts features is indicated here by starting it sequentially from number 20, whenever a part feature appears in text, it will be directly assigned its required serial number. As example in FIG. 1, the parts features are arranged sequentially from number 20 to 21, 22, 23... 28 which include 9 features signs. - Cover's Bag FIG. 1-A: The cover's fabric 20 bag 21 is having a U-shape (Made of strong cloth, leather or plastic). This bag 21 whole right and left corners 22 are made of curled elastic rubber 23, while it is lower inner side 24 is tilting inwards, making a nearly sharp edge, it will help in fixing the bag 21 around the rear bumper 25, specially the lower edge, the U - shape design of the bag 21 will help in storing it inside the luggage compartment 26 in a small space located along the rear lower side of it in addition to part of compartment lower right and left sides, taking that space U-shape, as well as taking the bumper 25 shape when fixed around it, the bag 21 also has a two belts 27, each of it is connected from one side to the bag 21 and from other side to any suitable place inside the luggage compartment 26, these belts 27 will help in hanging the bag 21 down while fixing it to the bumper 25 and also while it is fixed on bumper 25 , the number of belts 27 can be increased to three if a belt 27 required at the middle of the bag 21. Note the bag has two water drainage holes 28 in its bottom FIG. 1-B. - Guide-bar FIG. 1-B: the guϊde-bar 29 is made of wood or plastic, it is connected to the fabric's 20 front edge which is extending out of the bag 21, the guide-bar 29 has at its center a cleat 30, while it has at its edge a clamp 31, a pulling stick 32 is connected to the guide-bar 29 through the cleat 30, and fixed to the guide-bar through the clamp 31. For pulling the pulling stick 32, a hand holder 33 is made at its end. - Bag internal parts: FIG. 1-C is showing a cross sectional view of the bag 21 internal parts, inside the bag 21 there is the fabric layers (pleats) 34, cords 35 are extending through it, while in the lower side of the bag 21, installed a plate 36 of plastic or carton, supporting a spring retarder roller 37 which is a hollow tubular shaft, the spring retarder roller 37 is supported on the plate 36 through two right and left L shape rods 38, the sides of the L shape rods 38 that are extending inside the roller are used also as fixed shafts 39, at the left side of the roller 37 there is a torsion spring 40, this spring 40 is connected to the roller inner left edge through plastic connection 41, while it is fixed from its other edge to the left shaft edge, so that when the cords 35 rotates the roller 37 around the shafts 39, the spring 40 will start twisting from its left side, while it is hold to the shaft 39 from its other side, when releasing the cords 35, the spring 40 inside retard to retrieve its original shape, since the roller 37 is connected to the spring 40, it will rotate with the spring 40, pulling back the cords 35 which are hinged to the fabric pleats 34.

Note here that the spring retarder roller 37 preferably designed like a common window shade. U.S. Pat. No. 3,762,916, issued to Gossling on Oct. 9, 1973, entitled Window Shade Motor describes a basic design for the spring-loaded rod 40 of the preferred embodiment. The design includes a spring motor for tensioning the cover and retaining the cover when not held in an extended position. US. . No. 3,762,916 issued to Gossling on Oct. 9, 1973, entitled Window Shade Motor, is hereby incorporated herein by reference.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,050 issued to Toppen on Jan. 24, 1984, entitled Window Shade Clutch Assembly, describes an alternative embodiment of the spring-loaded rod 40 of the present invention. This alternative aspect adds a clutch assembly for permitting the cover to be held in an extended position, One with skill in the art will easily be able to adapt the teaching in the window shade art to apply the preferred embodiment of the herein described vehicle cover mechanism for holding the fabric 21 in its extended position while it is covering the vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,427,050 issued to Toppen on Jan. 24, 1984, entitled Window Shade Clutch Assembly, is hereby incorporated herein by reference. - Pulling stick FlG. 2: The (telescopic) pulling stick 32 is made of wood or plastic, it has a handle 33 at its free edge, while it is connected through its other edge to the guide-bar 29 cleat 30. this pulling stick 32 will be used to pull the guide-bar 29 in a straight line over the top center line of vehicle while moving near it, it is necessary specially for high vehicles such as 4WD. which will require the user to be in direct touch with the vehicle body, or leaning on it... the thing which will get his clothes dirty, or scratch vehicle body paint by user clothes' buttons, belts... - Cover's fabric FIG. 3, 4: The cover's fabric 20 is made of pleats 34 with

15 cm width parallel to the vehicle width; these U-shaped pleats 34 are arranged in continuous pairs over each other inside the cover's 20 U- shaped bag 21. The fabric 20 is designed to take the shape of the vehicle when unfolded. FIG. 3 shows a two dimensional view of the fabric 20 actual extended flat shape, including the following main three parts: a- The fabric toβ part 42 is covering the rear trunk 43, rear windshield glass 44, roof 45, front windshield 46, engine hood 47 and front bumper, lights and grilles 48. Note here that the front edge of the top fabric has two threaded holes 49 for hooking purposes.

B- Two side fabrics 50: these are making one piece with the top fabric 42 both right and left sides, but they are separated from it at the front and rear both corners 51, that is because the vehicle rear and front vertical sides did not require a U-shape pleats 34, the places at the corners 51 of the fabric 20 can be connected by the same side fabric 50 extending cords 35 coming from the top fabric 42 front or rear vertical sides.

Note here that each of the side fabrics 50 has two threaded holes 52 for hooking purposes, one at the front lower edge and one at the lower middle edge.

C- Cords net 53: It is a set of 7 cords 35, extending through the pleats 34 holes 54. The number of cords 35 can be increased for suitable design requirements. These cords 35 are attached to the roller 37, so that when the fabric 20 is unfolded, these cords 35 are unrolled, while when trying to fold back the fabric cover 20, these cords 35 are pulled back by the spring retarder roller 37. Note that the cords 35 ends from the fabric 20 front edges, has knots to stick in the pleats front ends holes 54, when the cords 35 are pulled back, same as in accordion pleated curtains. The fabric 20 has many adjectives to achieve many objectives that include the fallowings: a- Material: It is made from a water proof, anti jam material, and can be fabricated from a lightweight synthetic fiber, such as nylon. In hot weathers, it can be aluminized to give the fabric a reflective silver appearance thereby increasing its ability to reflect heat. b- Color: For Sunny hot climates: its outer surface color is white or silver or beige, while its inner surface is black, the outer surface color will reflect hot harmful sunrays, while the inner surface will absorb heat from the vehicle body, which will be directed outwards, this will help relatively in cooling the vehicle. Further the whole cover may be used for advertising, by drawing on it shapes that resemble the manufacturer image, dealer or anybody else. c- Ventilation: since the fabric 20 U-shape will be designed basically at first from a two dimensional flat fabric, it must be took into consideration that this fabric 20 will curl and bunch at the edges in- between its top part 42 and its sides 50 when it is deployed to cover the vehicle, the crunch that will appear at the edges can be solved by making gaps 55 as in FIG. 4, these gaps also will give us another benefit, when the fabric is extended, these gaps will not close 100 %, the small remaining spaces of it will be ventilating areas 56 in the fabric all around the vehicle top edges. d- Transparency: The fabric 20 can have further addition by making it transparent in the windows, windshields, Plate No. side. Using v-cool materials. e- For the right design of fabric 20, FIG. 9 can be used for designing a prototype model of the fabric 20 on vehicle first, where it will give a flat shape nearly same of that in FIG. 3, noting that special concern need to be taken about the lines of the cords 35 which need to be designed on vehicle as in FIG. 9. - A set of Hangers FEG. 5, 6: These hangers will be distributed around the vehicle body bottom side: two under the front bumper corners 57, one at the middle 58 of each side, while the rear corners 51 of the vehicle did not require hangers because the bag's 21 corners 22 already fixed and surrounding the rear corners 51 of the vehicle, each of the front corners will have one double hanger 57 to be used by both the top fabric 42 and the side fabric 50 front corners, the front left double hanger 57 will have upper left hanger 59 and right lower hanger 60 on its base 61, while the front right double hanger 57 will have upper left 59 hanger and lower right 60 hanger on its base 61.

Each hanger is designed in a way that it achieves locking on the fabric's 20 threaded holes 49, 52, the hanger's clamp 62 has at its edge a ball 63 supported from outside by a stopper 64, and supported from inside to a spring 65 supported by a plate 66, when pressing the fabric 20 edge to the balls 63, the balls 63 press on the springs 65, letting the fabric's hole 20 to pass to inside the hanger and locking back on it.

Detailed description of operation

Method of operation;

The method of operation is easy, because the cover basically designed to be handled easily by one person, simply, sequentially, with the lowest effort and time, and with a little number of simple cheap parts.

Stages of operation

1- Unrolling the fabric cover 20, it includes three stages and takes 35 seconds:

First stage: (Removing cover's bag 21 from inside luggage compartment 26) - (13 seconds) FIG. 7.

The trunk lid 43 is opened, cover's bag 21 is pulled out from the middle and hanged out through the two belts 27, then right side of the bag 21 is pulled more down and fixed firmly around the rear bumper 25 right corner from its lower edge, the same is done with the left side and finally pushing the bag 21 from its middle side down to be fixed completely around the rear bumper 25, then Trunk lid 43 is closed.

Second stage: (covering the vehicle top and sides) - (twelve seconds).

Release the pulling stick 32 from the guide-bar 29 clamp 31, and then start pulling the pulling stick 32, which will pull the guide-bar 29, which will drag behind it the fabric 20 cover FIG. 8.

Using the pulling stick 32 the user start pulling (unfolding) the fabric 20 up, then he/she moves towards one of the vehicle rear left side, and holding the pulling stick 32 up he/she moves towards the front of vehicle, while the stick 32 is pulling the fabric 20 from its middle side in parallel with the center line of the vehicle top, till he/she reaches the front of the vehicle, where he/she will re-fix the pulling stick 32 on the guide-bar 29 through the clamp 31, then fixes the fabric 20 through its front threaded hole 49 to front right (steering opposite side) double hanger 57 upper right hanger 59 and at the same time while the user is fixing the top fabric 42 front right edge, by his left hand pulls the front lower edge of the right side fabric 50 and fix its hole 52 in the right double hanger 57 lower left hanger 60, this will make the right side fabric 50 front edge overlap the top fabric 42 front right edge.

Then the user will fix the top fabric 42 front left edge through its front threaded hole 49 to front left (steering side) double hanger 57 upper left hanger

59. The user while fixing the top fabric 42 front edge to the front left double hanger 57 (steering side) by his right hand pulls the front lower edge of the left side fabric 50 and fix its hole 52 in the left double hanger 57 lower right hanger

60, this will make the left side fabric 50 front edge overlap the top fabric 42 front left edge FIG. 9.

Third stage: (Hooking the vehicle side fabrics 50) - (10 seconds)

The user moves to the left side fabric 50 middle lower edge and fix it to the middle single hanger 58 which is located under the vehicle body. Then moves to the right side fabric 50 middle lower edge and fix it to the middle single hanger 58 which is located under the vehicle body FIG.9.

Note here with only four hangers we fixed the fabrics, while the rear sides of the fabric 20 are already fixed inside the bag 21, also the rear edges of the side fabrics 50 and top fabric 42, are connected at the rear corners by the cords 35 that passes in-between it as shown in FIG.4.

2- Rolling or folding back the fabric cover 20, it consists of three stages, lakes 30 seconds.

Fourth stage: (Releasing the side fabrics 50) - (10 seconds)

The user releases the left side fabric 50 from the middle lower side hanger 58, then moves to the front left double hanger 57 and at the same moment by his right hand releases the left side fabric 50 front lower hole 52 from the front left double hanger 57 lower right hanger 60, and be his left hand releases the top fabric front left hole 49 from the double hanger 57 left upper hanger 59, then moves to the right side of the front bumper and releases at the same time by his right hand the right side fabric 50 front lower hole 52 from the front right double hanger 57 lower left hanger 60, and by his left hand releases the top fabric 42 front right hole 49 from the double hanger 57 right upper hanger 59, then moves to the vehicle right middle lower side and releases the right side fabric 50 from the lower middle single hanger 58.

Fifth stage: (Pulling back the top and sides fabrics of the cover) - (twelve seconds)

After all fabric 20 parts are released, it will not retard back directly, but will stay hold at extended position due to the locked clutch mechanism inside the spring retarder roller 37, now the user takes the top fabric 20 front edge with the guide-bar 29 and pulling stick 32 out from under the front bumper and then up, and releases the pulling stick 32 from the guide-bar 29, then pulls the pulling stick 32 towards him/her, this will unlock the torsion spring 40 which will be activated to retard and so the roller 37 will pull back the cords 35 that are passing through the fabric's pleats 34. The cords 35 will pull back with it all sides of the fabric 20 towards the vehicle rear side, using the pulling stick 32 and the guide-bar 29, the fabric's 20 pleats 34 are guided and pushed backwards by the user towards the U-shaped bag 21.

Sixth stage: (returning U-shaped bag 21 to luggage compartment) - (thirteen seconds)

The trunk Hd 43 is opened, then the fabric 20 is completely gathered inside the U-shaped bag 21, the pulling stick 32 is fixed to the guide-bar 29 through the clamp 31, then the bag 21 is pulled little down and released from all around the rear bumper 25, so the bag 21 is lifted up and returned with the belts 27 to inside the luggage compartment 26, finally trunk lid 43 is closed. Industrial applicability

In addition to all mentioned reasons before about the important needs for automobile cover and the modes for carrying out it, the subject invention has the following benefits:

1- Easy usage: Minimizes time of installing and removing, around 1 min for a person who practiced using it for around 5 times.

2- Workable solved the side fabrics handling problem by using roman curtains style.

3- Compact and attractive design.

4- If used at a wide range it will save billion of $, billions of water cubic meters, energy, chemicals, manpower, damaged parts in unprotected vehicles, body paint polish...

Parts Drawing Index:

20 Fabric.

21 U-shaped bag.

22 Bag's corners.

23 Curled elastic rubber.

24 lower inner sharp side.

25 Rear bumper.

26 Luggage compartment

27 Belt (strap).

28 Water drainage hole.

29 Guide-bar.

30 Cleat.

31 Clamp.

32 Pulling stick.

33 Hand holder.

34 Pleats.

35 Cords.

36 Roller supporting plate.

37 Spring retarder roller.

38 L -shaped rods.

39 Fixed shafts.

40 Torsion spring. Plastic connection. Fabric top part. Trunk lid. Rear windshield. Roof. Front windshield. Engine hood. Front bumper, lights and grilles. Top fabric's front edge hooking holes. Side fabric. Front or rear corners. Side fabric hooking hole. Cords net. Pleats' cords holes. Gaps. Ventilating gaps. Double hanger. Single (side) hanger. Upper left hanger. Lower left hanger. Hanger's base. Hanger's clamp. Ball. Stoppers. Spring. Retaining plate.